Atlantic Records
Bye bye pre-recorded demos. On “Everest”, Pennsylvanian rockers Halestorm have worked with Dave Cobb, who ditched pre-recorded demos and pushed the band to record in real time, which captured their raw, emotional honesty. It was a brave approach to creating the band’s sixth album, but did it pay off?
The haunting opener “Fallen Star” sets the vulnerable and tense tone of the record. It’s followed by the anthemic title track “Everest”, where Lzzy speaks verses before soaring choruses, and Joe Hottinger delivers a standout guitar solo. The brooding “Shiver” comes next, with its layered atmospherics, and then the soulful and bluesy “Like A Woman Can”. “Rain Your Blood On Me”, which was performed at the band’s slot at the final Black Sabbath show this summer, is a forceful, raging album highlight with explosive drum fills from Arejay Hale. It’s chaotic, heavy and yet controlled. Again, Hottinger delivers a stunning guitar part and Lzzy’s vocals roar. It’s easy to imagine this will have a regular slot on the band’s setlists.
Calming the listener, “Darkness Always Wins” starts like a ballad, but builds slowly to heavy, chugging rhythms and a guitar solo enhanced by Lzzy’s screams. “Gather The Lambs” shows the band’s willingness to use quasi-religious metaphors, much like “Wicked Ways” or “The Steeple” from 2022’s “Back from the Dead”. “WATCH OUT!” has an immediate, volcanic energy with primal, aggressive howls from Lzzy. The following track, the intimate “Broken Doll” begins gently and vulnerably, but it doesn’t take long before the defiance and aggression seep through. The fast paced “K‑I‑L‑L‑I‑N‑G” is simply one of the heaviest songs the band have ever written, and painfully honest, particularly when Lzzy screams “K‑I‑L‑L‑I‑N‑G, this loneliness is killing MEEEEEEEE”. The mid-tempo “I Gave You Everything” has a powerful sense of desperation. The closing track, the contemplative ballad “How Will You Remember Me?”, began as a poem titled “Legacy”, written by Lzzy Hale as she reflected on what she might leave behind once she’s gone. It has a grateful tone, acknowledging that the only thing we truly control is how we live each moment.
Halestorm at their most visceral and fiercely honest. “The Painful Truth” combines the band’s strengths after over 20 years together, and yet it feels like they are starting a new chapter. In the words of Daft Punk: “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”.
4.5/6 | Anne-Marie Forker
Release date: 8 August 2025
